Shinkenger: The Silver Legacy
by KamenRiderKoori
Summary: A few years after the fateful year, the Shinkenger have been gathered again from all over the world. But when they come back together, many surprises, forgotten pasts, and love come into sight. Slight TakeruXRyuu pairing, but not too explicit.
1. Chapter 1: 集

_Hey! I'm finally uploading this after arguing with myself for a long long time. My beta is on long-term hiatus because of national exams, so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry. We're both very busy people, and Toa is really stressed out now (so am I but I have it more slack than Toa does...) Kondo mo yoroshiku, ne!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger, zannen nagara..._

* * *

Chapter 1: 集

**Takeru**

It's been a few years since that year. The year which everything happened in- good, bad, surprising, memorable.

Occasionally, Gedoushuu still find their way out of the cracks, but those I could handle alone. As long as Chimatsuri Doukoku stayed sealed up, there was really no need to get those guys involved.

Genta's been sending me postcards from Paris, updating me every month about his progress. It won't be long before his skills get to that level he's always wanted to achieve.

As for the rest, I don't have any idea how they're doing- as far as I know, Mako is in Hawaii, probably already married. Chiaki should be finishing university soon.

And me? I've been forced to do all sorts of things when I'm not occupied by Gedoushuu. It makes me wish the Gedoushuu kept me more busy.

So now I know how to play the guitar - the bass too - and how to make girls shun me just so they would leave me alone when Jii set me up for another match-making session.

Ok, fine, I miss them. I miss Mako, Kotoha and Genta. Even Chiaki and Ryuunosuke. Especially Ryuunosuke.

Everything just seemed so bleak without them here. If I ever get to meet them again, I promise, I will treasure our time together more.

Then, one day, the Sukima sensor rang, louder than it has been since that year.

"Tokyo?"

Setting out again, thankful for the distraction (Jii was planning on having me take piano lessons too- I overheard him one day), I hurried to Tokyo.

What I saw surprised me more than anything in these past few years, which have been rather empty, to be totally honest.

"Ayakashi..."

That got its attention. "Who are you?" It demanded.

"SHODOPHONE! IPPITSU SOUJOU!"

My opponent didn't have any indication of recognition, even after my suit came on.

"ShinkenRed: Shiba Takeru. Going forth."

No Nanashi Renjyuu appeared, just the Ayakashi. I begin to have my suspicions.

When I attacked, nothing seemed to harm it. After a few attempts, the Ayakashi retaliated, and I was thrown half a street away, crashing into glass.

"My opponent is not in you. But if you insist, I will not hesitate to destroy you the next time we meet." And it retreated into a crack.

"Damn..."

* * *

**Ryuunosuke**

The audience applauded as we bowed. We- my team and I- had officially achieved our dream of being recognized as professionals in the world of Kabuki.

"Thanks for the hard work." as everyone around me left, I thanked them sincerely, and they said the same back to me.

When I was the only one left, Ryuu Origami poked its way out of my bag and onto my hand. It seemed restless. Suddenly it dove back into my bag, and I heard a voice I haven't heard for over ten years.

"Ryuu," she said.

My intuition was right, it was her I saw, when I turned around, leaning on the door of the dressing room.

"Hinoko..."

She smiled, tears spilling out of her eyes as she ran up to me and hugged me.

Of course, I hugged her back.

She had once lived with my family for a few years when we were both kids, having come to us on a snowy night. A few years later she suddenly disappeared, until now.

We let go of each other, and she wiped her tears away. "How did you know it was me? We were kids when we last saw each other."

"I'll never forget that voice." Hinoko was almost as tall as me, and she didn't have to reach up to cup my face.

"You've really changed. How have you been?"

An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach, replacing the pure joy of seeing my best friend again. "Why did you leave without saying anything?"

"I was… called away." As cliché as it sounded, my current self actually believed her, recalling the one year I was forced to put Kabuki on hold to serve Takeru.

Therefore it sounded like a reasonable reason. "As long as you don't suddenly disappear again." I hugged her again.

She didn't say anything, but wrapped her arms around me.

* * *

**Mako**

Moving to Hawaii reunited me with my mother. We spent a lot of time together, the burden of being ShinkenPink having been taken off my shoulder.

I still wake up at 4 to train, sometimes with my mother being my coach. She is stricter than Takeru, simply because she was my mother, and she didn't have to contend with people like Chiaki holding my progress back.

As to why I still train, because that, to me, is the only way I can not forget my home country of Japan. Here in Hawaii, all conversation is held in English, and my English has gotten good.

I'm currently teaching in a Kindergarten, still in search of my dream. I wonder if the others had achieved theirs. Not that Takeru had much of a dream, I laughed to myself.

Will I ever see them again?

My answer arrived in the form of a mail-man.

"Mako, you have a delivery!" My father shouted from downstairs in Japanese. We converse in Japanese at home so that it would not get worse with time.

"Hai!" I abandoned my Shodo practice and went to receive the parcel.

"Ms Shiraishi, this is for you." The Caucasian man dumped the wrapped package in my arms and asked me to sign.

After that, I opened the long, thin package to reveal a solitary arrow with a note on it.

"I guess Hikoma-san's arrows can't fly halfway across the globe, after all."

My parents approached as I removed the arrow to show them the word 'GATHER' 集 on the note.

My mother frowned, "Isn't Doukoku defeated? Why are you summoned again?"

I smiled at her, secretly glad to have a reason to reunite with my comrades, "I guess I don't have a choice but to go."

* * *

The flight was agonizingly long and tiring.

And it did not help that on the way back to the Shiba mansion I had to encounter an Ayakashi.

Except something was off about this one. It merely stood there, as though waiting for something.

However tired I was, I drew my Shodophone.

"IPPITSU SOUJOU!"

"ShinkenPink: Shiraishi Mako. Going forth!"

My fatigue resulted in none of my attacks working.

"Mako!" I heard Takeru's voice, which distracted me long enough for me to get flung into a pillar.

"This one's a tough one." Takeru approached me, not yet transformed.

"Why are the Ayakashi reappearing?" I tried to get up.

"You are not my opponent either."

"Mako!"

"Nee-san!"

"Tono-sama!"

"Take-chan!"

I looked to see Ryuunosuke, Chiaki, Kotoha and Genta running up to us.

"Let's go." Takeru nodded to the others, and we assumed our positions.

"SHODOPHONE! IPPITSU SOUJOU!"

"SUSHICHANGER! IKKAN KENJOU!"

Seeing the whole team, the Ayakashi suddenly seemed interested.

"ShinkenRed: Shiba Takeru."

"The same, Blue: Ikenami Ryuunosuke."

"The same, Pink: Shiraishi Mako."

"The same, Green: Tani Chiaki."

"The same, Yellow: Hanaori Kotoha."

"The same, Gold: Umemori Genta."

We knelt and bowed.

"The Samurai Sentai approved by the Providence: Shinkenger- GOING FORTH!"

The Ayakashi said nothing, and headed straight for Blue.

"Ryuu-san, watch out!"

Kotoha received the attack in place of Ryuunosuke, collapsing immediately.

"Kotoha! Minna, don't bother about me, protect Tono! I can hold my case."

We ignored him, stationing in front of him instead, when Takeru motioned for us to stop.

"The Ayakashi mentioned something about his opponent. Perhaps it's Ryuunosuke it's talking about."

Watching the Ayakashi and Ryuunosuke clash was like watching fireworks. Ryuunosuke's watery power dispelt the Ayakashi's energy-based attacks. That was, until Ryuunosuke got hit by lightning. "I'll be borrowing this one."

Takeru jumped forward, shielding Ryuunosuke's fallen body. "You'll have to go through us first."

Opening his buckle, he removed the lightning disc and slot it on his ShinkenMaru.

"SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!" He sent bolts of lightning at the Ayakashi, who countered it, sending it back to us.

We fell by our own power.

"I am taking him." And it disappeared with Ryuunosuke into a crack.

* * *

**Takeru**

Back at the mansion, we tended to our burns. The Kuroko helped where we could not.

"Shit. First fight and we lost." Chiaki cursed.

Kotoha was more worried about Ryuunosuke, though.

"What if the Ayakashi kills Ryuu-san?"

"The bottom-line is, we need to save him as fast as possible. Even though and precisely because, we don't know what the Ayakashi wants with him." Takeru concluded.

Mako interjected, "I believe we all need to rest first."

Except for Genta, we all blinked at her.

"Nee-san, Japanese, please."

Genta nodded, "I believe we should rest too. It's still…7 am in Paris. And I flew at 1 in the morning after a Daigoyou woke me up."

I sigh, knowing that a tired team would not get us anywhere. "Fine, we'll rest for the day." And I retreated into my own room.

To be totally honest, I'm disappointed that I didn't even get a chance to talk to Ryuunosuke since our reunion. I'm not saying the others are not nice to see, or talk to, but it just feels wrong not to have my most loyal comrade be missing.

We were all supposed to reunite happily, yet the Ayakashi had to take him from us immediately.

Tomorrow, I promised, tomorrow we'll think of something to get you back, Ryuunosuke.

Maybe then, I can tell you how I really feel.

* * *

_Dou? How was the first chapter of the story? Onegai dakara, please review! I'm looking forward to minna's comments!_


	2. Chapter 2: 合

_...And Chaper 2 is here~ I suggest you get popcorn- this is one long chapter, though not as long as my Shinkenger day-off fic..._

_On a very side side-tracked note, KRW is reaching the final episode! Can't wait for it tomorrow!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger, but I own the concept of this story (at least...)_

* * *

Review reply to CrystalProductions27- because you never sign in when you review lol:

I've...had this for quite a while, hehe... Don't worry, everything has been planned out nicely. Enjoy this chapter too!

* * *

Chapter 2: 合

**Chiaki**

With the abduction of Ryuunosuke, none of us felt like this was much of a reunion, and certainly no one attempted to feel happy and catch up on these past few years.

A few years have done a lot to change us, I guess.

I was summoned in the middle of my last exam, the arrow having been stuck onto the wooden wall beside the clock in the Lecture Theatre.

Luckily it was my last graduation exam, or else I wouldn't know what I would have done had it been a few days ago.

Now I can concentrate on facing this mysterious new wave of Ayakashi, which might, considering the last time, just last for another year. Not that I'm complaining, I'm happy to be spending more time with Takeru and everyone.

Ok, maybe I'm happier to see someone in particular, but it doesn't mean I don't like seeing everyone else. We all have fun together.

Once we get Ryuunosuke back, that is.

* * *

**Kotoha**

The next day, we woke up at 5 am to work on a plan. It felt so good to be here with everyone again, but someone important is missing. That's why we're working to retrieve that which is important to us. I'm sure everyone felt the same way.

"Tono! This is very bad news!" Hikoma-san came rushing in.

"What is it, Jii?"

"The Inromaru… The Inromaru has been stolen!"

"What?"

Hikoma-san continued, "We have no idea who did it, and the thief left no traces."

"Damn. We have no choice but to go without it. Right, now, the enemy's attacks are electricity-based. That means possibly only Genta's and the lightning disc's powers can have any chance of working against it. I would say Ryuunosuke's can counter it, but he's not available." Tono-sama said, regretfully.

"So…"

We began to plan out the attack, finishing just before the Sukima sensor rang.

Arriving at the scene, we find the Ayakashi. Except this time, we find Ryuu-san tied, no, chained up to a pillar, the Ayakashi circling him.

The next thing we knew, it sent a ripple of electricity through the chains, electrocuting Ryuu-san, who screamed in pain.

"Ryuunosuke!"

We got into position and transformed.

"Minna, the plan!" I said, and dashed forward with Chiaki, wielding my Land Slicer.

The Ayakashi seemed to notice our arrival, and sent one last jolt of electricity to silence Ryuu-san and came to deal with us.

We were supposed to buy time for Tono-sama's final attack with the lightning disc, while Gen-san would come up behind and free Ryuu-san.

Mako came between the Ayakashi and Ryuu-san's pillar, creating a wall of pink wind to just block his vision and hopefully deflect some of the voltage, while Tono-sama waited for the right chance.

Things didn't quite go how we expected.

The Ayakashi took us all down at one go, and Tono-sama could only take out the disc at the last minute.

But before he could mount the disc, a figure leapt through the air and snatched the disc.

"I'm taking this." The white figure said as he landed.

He fitted the disc into the Inromaru (so he's the thief) and plunged the ShinkenMaru into the ground. He then raised his arms and shouted in a powerful voice, "SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!"

Bright, white electricity sparked off the blade of the sword, spreading out to connect with all that was metal around the premises, and was concentrated on the Ayakashi.

The monster tried to repel it with its own power, but the disc's power was too much for it. An explosion ended its first life.

* * *

**Genta**

I made quick work of Ryuunosuke's chains before the Ayakashi grew. Ryuu origami freed itself from Ryuunosuke's jacket and bounced over to the mysterious newcomer, into his hands, nuzzling him.

"Who are you?"

The white figure merely stated, "ShinkenSilver: Hino Tetsuda. Going forth."

What's this guy's problem? First he steals Take-chan's disc, now he's claiming to be a Shinkenger!

That almost sounds like what I did before. No, no, I tell myself, I did not disrespect Take-chan by stealing anything from him.

"Let's go." Take-chan commanded, and I called for Ebi Origami.

Ryuu origami returned to Ryuunosuke, as the others enlarged their Origami.

Take-chan wrote 合 "COMBINE", but Ryuu Origami seemed to have other ideas, refusing to come together.

"Ryuunosuke, what are you doing?" Take-chan interrogated him.

"I apologize deeply, Tono, but I cannot control Ryuu Origami at all."

I asked him, "What do you mean?"

Suddenly a new Origami appeared out of the skies, and Ryuu Origami went over to it.

It, being a silver, winged creature that screeched.

This was turning out to be a very, very surprising day, I think to myself as I did the Samurai Henge for Ebi Origami and watched the formation of a new Samurai Gattai lead by the new Origami.

* * *

**Ryuunosuke**

First Ryuu Origami doesn't listen to me; now this new Origami comes and takes over Takeru's position?

The positions inside the Gattai were changed. We were now flanking the so-called ShinkenSilver, including Takeru himself.

He announced, "Shinigami: Graced by the Providence!"

We all just stood there, not sure of how to react to this new authority.

Hasn't this happened before?

I realized this was just like when Hime – the real 18th head of the Shiba Clan, Shiba Kaoru – first made her appearance to us.

"Minna," I said, "Let's just get this fight over with. Everything else is secondary."

I then bow to Takeru. "I apologize for this impudence, but we need to make sure the city is safe first."

As I expected, Takeru nodded. "Ryuunosuke's right. Fight first, questions later."

'ShinkenSilver' laughed. "I don't really need you to fight with me. I can control this whole robot myself."

Chiaki was really pissed by now, I could hear as he shouted, "What the hell?"

If not for Kotoha holding him back, he might have already flown at the helm figure.

'Shinigami' moved forward, and I could see that all the electricity the monster was throwing at us was strangely deflected by some unknown force.

"As expected of ShinkenSilver, am I wrong?" The Ayakashi addressed the 'ShinkenSilver'.

"Oh, you were waiting for me? How well informed you were, then."

"Nonsense, I was made to wait for you. To destroy you!" It threw a ball of energy at us, which we dodged.

The mysterious figure leading us drew his ShinkenMaru-looking thing with the Inromaru attached to it.

"Tono! Why does he have the Inromaru?"

Takeru didn't answer me, just told me to ask later.

We all drew our ShinkenMaru in sync with 'ShinkenSilver', thus drawing the Daishinken.

"Daishinken: Denchi Giri!"

The wings of the newly attached Origami flapped, generating energy which was channeled to the Daishinken, and we slashed, ending this chapter once and for all.

"This brings the chapter to a close."

We finally got a closer look at the white figure. He was, in truth, clad in standard Shinkenger uniform, except in silver. What was different about him was the way the Inromaru worked with the suit.

The original simple white coat of sorts was now attached to the suit from the back, and the white collar fanning out like wings of birds behind him without the golden clasps. The bottom half of the coat had also changed, now like streams hanging from his belt.

In short, this Shinkenger looked like a silver version of us with a bird, with wide wings and a peacock tail, attached to his back.

We powered down, and so did he.

"Who are you?" Takeru interrogated in his cold voice.

"Hino Tetsuda, ShinkenSilver."

"How can you be ShinkenSilver? And what was that origami?"

"You'll come to understand everything soon."

Kotoha spoke up. "Ano, there was something that the Ayakashi said that bothers me… Why was it after Tetsuda-san?"

Tetsuda glared at her, his eyes cold. "Firstly, upon what assumption did you conclude you could call me Tetsuda? Secondly, that was no Ayakashi. Thirdly, it was not after me."

"Mah," Mako didn't seem to be liking this guy to bits either, "we're going to be comrades from now on, whether we like it or not, so it doesn't really matter what we call each other by."

"Tch."

"If that was not an Ayakashi, what was it?"

"I do not believe you have the right to address me, Kagemusha."

Ok that's the last straw. I went up to the idiot who claims to be a Shinkenger but didn't even bother to be respectful to Takeru, and said, "You are standing in front of the 19th Head of the Shiba Clan, how dare you call him a shadow? He has been properly re-"

"Mou iiyo, Ryuunosuke." Takeru pushed me aside, and when I tried to protest, he looked at me.

"Ryuunosuke..." Tetsuda almost studied me, until Takeru spoke again, "I take it that you were the thief who stole the Inromaru?"

"It belonged to me in the first place, along with this," he held up the lightning disc, threw it up in the air and snatched it back again, "so I'm taking both. Now, I'm going home."

That guy really makes me annoyed! Watching him spite Takeru's authority and his former role as a shadow just makes my blood boil. What makes him think that he can just barge in, claim that he's a samurai even, and declare he is lord? Takeru had, even though he didn't need to, earned his right as the head of the team, as ShinkenRed, and as our Lord! And something else…

* * *

Unfortunately for us, this was far from over.

When we returned to the mansion, he was there again.

And he was sitting on Takeru's platform.

"OI!" Genta beat me to it. "There's a limit to your pride that we can tolerate!"

"ShinkenGold. I'm interested in your power."

Genta nearly snarled. "What?"

"Now I shall take my leave."

His idea of a 'leave' included retreating into Takeru's room.

We all stood there, unable to believe this guy's actions, and Takeru demanded the presence of Hikoma-san.

* * *

**Takeru**

"Jii! What's going on? Who is that guy?" Genta's right- there is a limit to my- to our- tolerance.

"His name is Hino Tetsuda. Due to certain circumstances, I am not permitted to say anymore. Just this one thing: Tono, and all of you, should treat him well."

"What? You expect us to do that?" Chiaki said, exasperated.

Mako shut him up. "What do we make of ShinkenSilver? And the Inromaru? And that new Origami?"

Jii took a while to think, as though contemplating how much he should tell us.

After a while, he spoke. "Maybe you should sit down."

"ShinkenSilver is the user of the 'METAL' mojikara, and the lightning disc works well with that. That Origami you saw earlier was the Houou (鳳凰- Phoenix) Origami. The Houou Origami is a legendary Origami that reincarnates itself every 500 years, and chooses a new warrior. That's all I can tell you. The rest of it, only Tetsuda can answer."

"Houou..."

"Origami..."

Ryuunosuke and Mako repeated.

We took a while to let it all sink in- the legendary Origami, the legendary Silver Shinkenger, and Hino Tetsuda, the guy whose pride will get him nowhere.

"Well, since it's been so long, why don't we have a reunion party!" Chiaki suddenly said.

"Sou, sou! Let's do that!" Kotoha's face lit up.

"Minna! I'm sorry! It's because of my getting captured that delayed the festivities! I apologise!"

"It's not really your fault, Ryuunosuke." Mako reassured him.

I got up, and everyone looked at me.

"What?"

Chiaki took the lead. "Alright! Kotoha-chan and Nee-san will go shopping for the food and whatnot; make sure you get decorations as well. Ryuunosuke and Gen-chan will prepare some food that is not instant, and Takeru will decorate the yard when Nee-san and Kotoha-chan come back with the ingredients and decorations. I will plan and host the party, so if there's anything, just contact me."

A few years really have changed Chiaki a lot, I noticed.

Wait. "Why am I in charge of decorations?"

"And why am I cooking?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"Because I can't possibly make Takeru cook, and he can't just sit around doing nothing..."

"Are you implying I can't cook?" I asked him.

"Yes!" The nerve of that guy! I take back what I just thought about him. "If you've been Tono-sama all your life it simply means that the kuroko have done the cooking for you! Ryuunosuke on the other hand, might have a higher chance of knowing how to cook."

"Chiaki, are you by any chance taking business in University?"

"Yeah, why?"

Mako and Kotoha giggled, while Genta tried to answer through his laughter.

"N- nothing, le- let's just all- all go and get to w- work!"

By that it meant that Mako, Kotoha and Chiaki left the rest of us sitting in the hall with nothing to do till the girls come back.

"Ne, Ryuunosuke, can you cook?" Genta asked carefully.

"Yeah."

"Is it... you know... edible?"

"Of course! I had to eat it myself!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Don't your parents cook for you?"

"My mother died when I was very young, possibly even right after I was born, and my father was too busy with training me to feed me. I learnt how to cook with some help from my friend."

"Ah."

"Well, I won't believe you till you prove it."

Oh no, here comes the fight. Where's Mako when you need her?

"Fine! I'll prove it right now!" Ryuunosuke got up and stormed to the kitchen with Genta in tow, and for lack of better activities, I followed them.

In the kitchen, Ryuunosuke rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work.

"No! You can't put garlic in Miso!"

"You're supposed to do it this way!"

A few more comments by Genta later, Ryuunosuke lost it. "Can you just let me do it? There is no point in you judging my food if you're cooking for me!"

I allowed myself to smile in amusement, since no one was looking anyway.

These two can really be good entertainment. I didn't realize until now how much I really missed the others' presence in this mansion. Not only did it keep Jii occupied thus freeing me from sudden piano lessons, it also lightened up the mansion's mood.

At long last, Ryuunosuke was done.

"Mackerel Miso." He presented it to us.

Genta took up his chopsticks slowly, studying the piece of fish in front of him.

I didn't waste anytime, since I was kind of hungry, and I didn't need to evaluate the food. The taste took me by surprise, though. I really hadn't expected Ryuunosuke, of all people, to know how to cook. "Ryuunosuke, where did you learn how to make this?"

"Oh this one? I happened to stumble into a peculiar restaurant a few months ago, where this girl taught me. I still remember the man who looked at me like he was about to eat me, until he suddenly said something in riddle with his right hand pointed to the ceiling. Weird day, but at least I learnt something out of it."

I looked over at Genta, waiting for his verdict.

"This... There's only one person who can make this the exact same way..."

"Who?"

"...I can't remember his name, but he was studying in the same kitchen under a different master than me. A weird guy, I must say. I mean, he constantly had a beetle buzzing around him, which he didn't even seem to mind."

"So, is it good?"

Genta gave Ryuunosuke a deathly glare. "As much as I hate to say it, but it's not good... IT'S THE WORK OF HEAVEN!"

We finished up the little meal and Ryuunosuke washed up, constantly smiling proudly (which I thought really fit him, the smile).

The rest of the day went by in a whiz, preparing for the party. Mako and Kotoha helped in the decorating process, and we all went to sleep awaiting tomorrow's party.

* * *

_Notes:_

_Shinigami = 'death god', literally, or grim reaper_

_Denchi = Electrical, giri = slash_

* * *

_So... There we have it! No, it's not a cliff-hanger, it's a nice ending XD_

_If you liked this, please review! If you hated it, review also, just don't flame..._


	3. Chapter 3: 雷電の舞

_Yo~ Third Chapter here! A little shorter than the previous chapter, but all the same, hope you enjoy it!_

_On a side note, I'M SO TOUCHED BY YOUR REVIEWS, MINNA~! ARIGATOU!_

_On a even more side-tracked side note, tomorrow's the concluding episode for W! Hope it turns out all well, and Philip survives and we get a happy reunion~!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger. But I own my concept of Shinkensilver._

* * *

Chapter 3: 雷電の舞

**Genta**

"GENTA! WAKE UP, IT'S 4!"

Yes, at 4 am in the morning I was woken up by Ryuunosuke to start cooking for the party. Does this guy never get tired? Or does some one need to break his bones to break his routine?

Scratch that. Breaking his bones will just make him continue to run on crutches. And Take-chan will just fuss over him.

Yes, I noticed. There is nothing that Take-chan can hide from the mighty ShinkenGold, his best friend since we were kids. I read him like fish.

"Ano ne, Ryuunosuke, I can't work in the morning!"

I yawned, but was already too awake to go back to sleep. So I just went to the kitchen with him.

Chiaki had written out the menu and left it on the fridge. Picking it up, I read it out and we got straight to work.

The past few years in Paris have been awesome. The master wasn't the kindest person on Earth- he was meaner and stricter than Ryuunosuke and Take-chan put together multiplied by a hundred- but he was respectable.

I've also started picking up French and English, the more common conversational languages there. In fact, the only reason my Japanese hasn't slipped was thanks to my weird Japanese... friend?

Nah, he specifically said he hated that word. And he keeps comparing me to a mirror. I think he and Ryuunosuke might just offer each other sufficient competition for the post of 'weirdest guy ever'.

"Genta, you prepare the sushi. There's quite a lot here. I trust you can handle the maki as well?"

"No problem! Leave it to me!" There was no way I was going to lose to this guy, especially after his little feat yesterday.

It took us around 4 hours to ready the food. And only till much later, did I find out someone had been watching us the whole time.

* * *

**Kotoha**

I was woken up by Chiaki, who was hitting a gong outside our corridors.

Oh, Tono-sama is now occupying one of the rooms along the same corridor, because that new guy decided to take his room, and Hikoma-san said it's wrong to oppose him. I think Tono-sama is actually rather irritated, but he has to hide it for our sake. Sometimes I wish he didn't have to.

Like when he was shadowing for Hime-sama, he hid all the darkness in his heart, and I'm sure he's really quite exhausted from that already.

"Chiaki..." Mako-chan emerged from her room at about the same point in time as I did, going straight to confiscating Chiaki's gong. Then, after washing up, we went to the backyard for the party, only to find Tono-sama practicing, no, sparring with Ryuu-san and Gen-san. On a nearby table there was food.

"Ah, you're up. We'll be right back." Genta pushed the other two back into the building to clean up.

Chiaki asked us, "Ja, shall we start without them?"

"I think we should wait." I said, walking around the yard admiring the decorations we'd put up.

"What is this?" A voice asked from a dark corridor of the building. Tetsuda walked out of it.

Mako-chan tensed up, and Chiaki clenched his teeth. But I thought it would be a very good chance to get to know him a little better, so I said, "Ah! Tetsuda-san! Good morning! We're having a party! Oh, if you want, you can join us."

"Kotoha, what are you doing?" Chiaki hissed in my ear, but I didn't respond. I'm sure Tetsuda isn't a bad person by nature. He probably has something hidden as well, distancing himself from his comrades.

He strolled into the yard, and spotting the food, tried a bit of the miso. Or at least, a pot that looked like it held miso. I watch as he froze on the spot, his eyes suddenly flooded with emotion. His hand gripped onto the soup bowl as though it were going to leave him anytime soon.

Mako-chan noticed this as well. "Tetsuda...?"

"This is...terrible." He cupped a hand over his mouth and promptly disappeared back into the house, just as Gen-san and the other two came back.

"What's wrong with him?" Ryuu-san had a confused face on.

None of us who witnessed the scene really understood. "Who made the soup?" Chiaki finally managed to choke out.

Ryuu-san, still rather confused, said, "I did, why?"

I found my voice. "Tetsuda... ran off after drinking it. He looked like he was ready to vomit..."

"I don't understand why, though." Mako went over to try the miso. "Wa. What is this?"

Tono-sama immediately jumped down to the yard. "What's wrong?", while Ryuu-san murmured, "It's soup..."

"It's good! Tetsuda must have gotten something wrong…" she replied.

* * *

**Chiaki**

"Aah, since everyone's here, let's PARTY!" The first reunion we've had in years, and it just had to be so serious and contemplative. Everyone, just lighten up, I felt like yelling at them.

"Yeah! Everyone, let's all have fun today!" Thankfully, Gen-chan at least agreed with me, and we passed out the plates.

"We're having sushi for breakfast." Takeru stated in an amused manner, almost like a question.

We got straight to the party, which lasted till the afternoon.

"Come to think of it, Kotoha-chan, how have you been for the last few years?"

Kotoha lowered her plate of melted éclairs. She just loved food of any sort, even if it were melted chocolate. "Great! My parents let me go to high school since I missed out most of public schooling due to samurai training! Although I didn't have many friends, it was very fun! I'd just finished my exams when the arrow came."

"Are you planning to go into University?" I asked again.

She thought over that a bit. "I'll decide when my results come out. I was hoping to go into something else, though."

"Everyone!" Genta interrupted the small chats (including Ryuunosuke and Mako's), "do you want to hear Take-chan play the guitar?"

"Genta!" Takeru's panicked face was priceless, as he protested to the idea.

Actually, I did want to hear it. "That's right! We want to hear it, right? I'll even accompany you!" I draped a friendly arm over Takeru's shoulder, as the kuroko brought out two guitars.

"Ah! Do you guys have a drum set as well?" Kotoha suddenly asked, and the kuroko immediately produced one.

Mako, Ryuunosuke and Gen-chan sat down waiting for the performance.

I looked as the kuroko set up the drums for Kotoha, wondering how come she never told me about the drums.

* * *

**Genta**

Take-chan looked totally at home with the guitar, standing between Chiaki on the bass and Kotoha on drums.

Kotoha on drums! I hadn't expected that at all.

"Takeru, pick a song you can play, and we'll follow."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" He sighed.

Kotoha tapped her drumsticks. "And five, six… And five, six, seven, eight!"

The music began, rocking the house.

I don't really know what they played, but it was really really cool to see Take-chan playing and enjoying himself playing some energetic pop/rock song. Just another thing that I never expected.

"BRAVO!" I stood up and clapped for them when they finished on a high note.

Kotoha was tapping her drumsticks together, totally high from the adrenaline. Even usually up-tight Ryuunosuke looked truly relaxed and hyped up by the music.

"This is turning into a talent showcase." Mako murmured, amused, as we got 'autographs' of the performers with a Shodo and calligraphy paper- the only form of writing tools this place had.

"Ja, next is Nee-san, I guess." Chiaki said with an evil grin.

Mako looked startled. "Ia, iiyo, I don't really have any hidden or special talent."

"Come on, Mako-chan, don't be shy!" I said to her.

But she kept denying she had any form of talent at all.

Just when Chiaki and Kotoha got about chasing her around the yard to catch her and make her do it, the Sukima sensor rang from inside.

The next thing we saw was Tetsuda, already outside the mansion grounds and running off.

"Let's go." Take-chan wasted no time either, immediately getting a hold of himself and going back to the strict Tono-mode.

* * *

**Ryuunosuke**

We arrived at the scene to see ShinkenSilver facing off with an Ayakashi, no, a creature that looked like it was made of mud. The monster was a hard one to defeat, even with the power of ShinkenSilver. Especially with the power of ShinkenSilver- the creature dodged attacks with complete ease, making it impossible to even hit with anything solid.

Tetsuda looked like he was struggling to even stand, and as much as we hated his cocky attitude, it wasn't something we could stand by and do nothing about.

"SHODOPHONE! IPPITSU SOUJOU!"

"SUSHICHANGER! IKKAN KENJOU!"

"The Samurai Sentai approved by the Providence: Shinkenger- GOING FORTH!"

We got straight down to business, but when we tried to help, Tetsuda shouted, "Don't come any closer!"

"Mako!" Takeru ignored him and prompted.

Mako nodded, and wrote out 'TORNADO' 旋風, sending the column of wind at the creature, entrapping it.

"Tetsuda, now's your chance!"

"SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!" The display of lightning dazzled our eyes once again, destroying the monster and the cyclone Mako had created.

We stood ready with our Origami and Shodophone in each hand, waiting for the monster's second life, but Tetsuda turned back, reverted back to human form and headed back.

"Tetsuda!" Chiaki demanded an explanation, stopping Tetsuda in his tracks.

"This one will not have a second life. It was just a pawn on the board.

"Pawn?" Takeru asked.

I thought back to the lightning monster. "Then the one yesterday was..."

Only slightly looking back, Tetsuda answered, "Cart. Also known as castle."

"What exactly are they?" Mako probed at the wall he constructed between us.

And to our surprise, Tetsuda answered, "A more civilized breed of Ayakashi- they think and strategize, unlike those under Doukoku. We call them, Kogoyakashi."

A lot of questions still floated around in my mind, but the guy with the answers needed his rest. "Why don't we head back to the mansion first?"

And so, that we did. But when we got back, Tetsuda immediately shut himself up in Takeru's room, not coming out for the rest of the day.

* * *

_Notes:_

_Mirror—in Japanese, mirror is Kagami. Hope this makes it a whole lot clearer XD_

_Kogoyakashi—really, there isn't a particular reason behind the naming…_

* * *

_This is just because Toa wanted to see tono on the guitar... And sorry, I think all the characters are somehow or another way out of character gomen!_

_Please review~ Tanomuzo~_


	4. Chapter 4: 強敵

_Hi all~ Today's teachers' day, so I have no school, so I decided to put up another chapter~ Enjoy~ Somehow I realized this is a really short chapter... sorry... O.o_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger, just ShinkenSilver._

* * *

Chapter 4: 強敵

**Genta**

It's so nice to be here, with my own room, and everything. I can just come out of my room and stretch and go back in.

We gathered for sword practice. Or rather, the others gathered for sword practice and sent me to get Tetsuda.

I ended up banging on the door to the secret corridor, not wanting to go in, and after 10 minutes, my hand was starting to hurt, when he finally came out with a cross look on his face.

"Mou, can you just say you're coming and spare me all these knocking?" I told him, as I walked back to the yard.

"Why should I? I didn't ask you to come knocking in the first place. You're lucky I felt kind enough to even pay any attention and come out. I would've just left you there knocking the whole day. "

GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! What's this guy's problem? He's even worse than my Paris friend! At least that guy had some sort of common sense!

Or does he?

But anyway, we made our way to the yard, where a very irritated bunch of samurai awaited.

"Took you long enough!" To my surprise, Chiaki was the one who said that.

"Where's Ryuunosuke?"

Take-chan answered, "I told him to take a day off, having spent a day in captivity."

He's grown soft. Love does this to people, doesn't it? Or should I say, infatuation?

"Let's begin," Back to Tono-mode, huh?

Everyone split up, Chiaki and Mako sparring while Take-chan and Kotoha, while waiting for their chance, went back to basics training with the dummy.

I joined the dummy group, just to warm up before it's my turn to take on someone else.

"Move it." Tetsuda's command drew our attention, and I saw him using his shinnai to push Mako till she fell.

"Mako!" "Mako-chan!" Take-chan and Kotoha immediately went up to support her.

Chiaki wanted to do the same, but Tetsuda looked up from Mako's fall to him, immediately pointing his shinnai at the wood-based samurai and stopping his motion.

Without warning, he started thrusting his shinnai at Chiaki, who blocked his attacks. Unlike a few years ago, Chiaki managed to sustain a longer period of time, before Tetsuda got around behind him and dealt the final blow that knocked him unconscious.

"Chiaki!" Kotoha went over to try to wake him, dragging him to the side of the house. Mako got up. "That was a bit too much, don't you think?"

"No," Tetsuda coldly intoned, and began attacking her.

One by one, we fell at his sword, until Take-chan and I were the only ones left. "Tono-sama and a sushi seller. This is so interesting." He mocked us with that sneering voice.

"Genta, we attack together." Take-chan whispered to me. We split up and came at him on both sides.

Seeming to have anticipated this, he used his weapon to block off my backhand slashes, and dodged Take-chan's, such that I nearly got hit on the head by my best friend. Luckily, he had full control over his shinnai and I was spared of the unconsciousness.

"His style of fighting is different." I noticed. It was not like mine, but not like the normal samurai's. "It's not Kendo. It's more like fencing…" recalling my Paris friend, who challenged me to a duel once when I accidentally dropped my glove in front of him.

The way Tetsuda held his shinnai, his stance, even without the back hand, it was obvious that it was not Japanese.

"Look out!" I shouted to Take-chan when the shinnai came at him, having faked a top when it was aimed for his side.

It would have knocked his breath out of him, if not for a foreign sword getting in the way.

"Tono," Ryuunosuke nodded to him as he flicked the shinnai away.

* * *

**Takeru**

That made one more time Ryuunosuke came to my rescue. I watched as he faced off the guy who almost knocked me down, dodging his attacks as though he knew Tetsuda's every move.

Ryuunosuke's style of fighting had adapted to Tetsuda's, adopting the stance and the jabs. It was almost too practiced to be passed off as improvisation.

"You've gotten better, Ryuu," Tetsuda smirked as they circled around, causing Ryuunosuke to drop his defenses enough for him to be disarmed. Victoriously, Tetsuda pointed the shinnai at him, indicating a win.

* * *

"Argh! That jerk! He disrupted our practice and knocked us down like nothing! Who does he think he is?" Chiaki was whining as he held a bag of ice against his neck where Tetsuda struck him.

Genta draped an arm around him. "Face it, Chiaki, he's much better than us."

Though truthfully, it wasn't his skill that made me feel like my insides were burning. It was the way he called Ryuunosuke "Ryuu". Who does he think he is?

"No…" Ryuunosuke looked at the two of them seriously. "He's using a totally different style, one that none of you have experienced, or seen. If you've even lasted 5 minutes against him, it means that your skill is good."

Trust Ry… Wait, wasn't that Mako's line?

"Well, if he can almost beat Tono-sama, it just means that Chiaki, it's not just your skill." Kotoha added, to my dismay. "Kotoha! What's that supposed to mean?" She winced as I protested.

"Ah mou! I can't stand this!" Suddenly, Mako burst out. "Ever since Tetsuda came, our lives, our conversations, even our training, have been about nothing but him! I wish we could go back to the way things were a few years ago, when there was still laughter within these walls!"

"Mako-chan…"

Genta stood up. "Yoshi! Let's go to my sushi cart again! It's a treat!"

"Yatta!" Chiaki shouted, and raced Genta out of the mansion, followed by the girls.

Ryuunosuke got up slowly, and I could sense that Tetsuda's appearance was more straining on him than everyone else, for some reason.

I walked up beside him, just walking beside him slowly, when he said in a faraway voice, "I wonder how Hinoko's doing…"

"Let's go enjoy ourselves for tonight," I smiled at him, and his face showed surprise.

"What? Is it a crime for me to smile?"

"I..iie! Not at all!" Ryuunosuke looked away and went ahead of me.

* * *

_The title means "strong enemy" and I took it from one of the KRW OST2 tracks (though they were referring to Terror in there). I'm sure you feel like killing Tetsuda now, so please review and you can verbally slash him up~ (omg i'm so mean to my OC)_


	5. Chapter 5: 秘伝ディスク

_It's saturday again~! Hai, kondo mo, enjoy~_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger~ but though some of you hate it, I do own shinkensilver ^^v_

* * *

Chapter 5: 秘伝ディスク

**Takeru**

Hino Tetsuda.

He definitely knew something.

In fact, he made it clear he wouldn't tell us.

I know that feeling, and how painful it really is. That's why I would not force the answer out of him- he must have a reason for holding out on us.

Pawn... Cart...

What will the next one be?

Suddenly the screen separating me from the rest of the world slammed aside, and Ryuunosuke poked his head in. "Not here..." Then he disappeared, not even closing the screen.

A few seconds later, Mako's and his screaming could be heard. I assume he barged into her room the same way.

Well, since I'm not going back to sleep anymore, I might as well go see what's going on.

"Ryuunosuke! What are you doing early in the morning?"

Ryuunosuke stiffened, and turned around quickly. "Good morning, Tono. Did I wake you?"

I can't believe this guy!

"No... You did barge into my room though..."

"A- AH! I forgot! I'M SO SORRY!" And he bowed so deep I thought he might just flip over.

Now what?

"Um... So what are you doing?"

Ryuunosuke hesitated.

"Ryuu Origami is missing." He finally admitted.

I checked inside my pocket. Shishi Origami was still with me.

"Maybe it's still in your room. You just haven't looked carefully enough." But I knew that was impossible.

He returned to search in his room again anyway, and I followed him.

Well, the room had hardly anything. No wonder Ryuunosuke concluded the miniature dragon was missing.

Could it be with Tetsuda? After all, it had seemed to show some kind of affection for the silver samurai.

I gave that suggestion to Ryuunosuke, who immediately marched off to the private corridor that was once mine.

True enough, the Origami was there, and Tetsuda was playing with it. In fact, he was laughing and talking to the blue dragon. It was as though he was a totally different person altogether.

Ryuu Origami sensed the presence of its owner and flew at Ryuunosuke almost guiltily. Tetsuda, following Ryuu Origami's movement, discovered us, and his facial expression immediately hardened.

"Ryuunosuke, what are you doing here?" Is that fear I detect in his voice? Or surprise?

"...my Origami."

Tetsuda abruptly stood up, walking towards us. "Do you come here often?"

The question took Ryuunosuke by surprise, I could see. "N- NO! This is the Tono's private chamber! Of course I don't come barging in here as I please!"

"Ja," Tetsuda gave Ryuunosuke a look-over, with this gaze that makes me real uncomfortable, and said, "What's this?"

"You are not our- not my- Tono. And I have a right to my Ori- oww!" Ryuu bit him, as if protesting against dragging it into the discussion.

Tetsuda gave a short laugh at that. "Ryuu doesn't agree with you. He likes me. Right?"

As though in response, the Origami floated over to Tetsuda and perched on his shoulder, nuzzling against his neck as he stroked it happily.

"Traitor..." Ryuunosuke murmured, and went back out, saying out loud, "You're sleeping in the drawer tonight, or whenever you feel like coming back."

I stayed behind when Ryuunosuke went.

"What?"

I tried to restrain my irritation and forced myself to say, "Nothing," and then hurrying out of the- my- room.

It was nearly sunrise, and I went to practice for an hour before breakfast.

Luck never leaves me alone, does it? I groaned internally as I saw Ryuunosuke again. It's getting harder and harder to talk to him, and this gap is starting to get on my nerves.

Not that we were ever close before, but at least I didn't feel this gripping feeling in my heart the last time we talked alone, which was, that day when he went back home for good.

"Tono." Ryuunosuke's voice cut through my thoughts, and I focused my vision on him, seeing him bow in greeting and stood upright again.

"Tono? Are you feeling alright?"

Only then did I realized I've been staring at him for too long without response.

"Oh."

As always, he caught on my silence. "Is something wrong?" He checked his outfit to make sure he wasn't wearing it inside out, or having only changed half his clothes.

"No it's got nothing to do with you." Well it has something to do with you but I'm the Tono and there's nothing I can do to change that but it's not how you look now or any-

Before I knew it, Ryuunosuke had sat me down on the ledge of the house.

"Are you sure you're not running a fever? You look quite pale." He lifted a hand to my forehead, which I, in a panic, moved away from quickly, and at the same time used my arm to move it away.

So he studied me for a while, his eyes looking like they almost read my thoughts. This is when I thank my ability to hide my true emotions behind a blank face. I've got to work on the eyes one day.

"Something is up," he concluded, frowning, "You can tell me anything, you know? I don't want you to go through the same thing as you did with the Hime episode. You should trust us, your retainers more!"

* * *

**Ryuunosuke**

Takeru opened his mouth, as if he finally gave up.

Instead, he asked in a distracted voice, "Ryuunosuke, do you have a girlfriend?"

I thought of Hinoko, whom I had to leave a few days after we met again. Is she counted?

Is she disappointed in me?

All these questions flooded my thoughts, drowning me.

"Ryuunosuke?"

"Ahem. I don't know." I answered carefully.

Why do I even care in the first place- whether or not I have a girlfriend doesn't concern Tono... Or does it?

"What about you?" AH! What did I just say that for? "Sorry! I know I'm in no position to ask- just forget I even asked."

"No."

"Hai?"

"No," he repeated.

Something just made me feel a bit more happy, but what was it?

"Ja, shall we practice?"

Tono wasn't going to open up anytime soon, I could tell.

We sparred for the next hour or so, until my stomach informed me it was time for breakfast.

Tetsuda never joined us for meals- in fact, we hardly ever see him outside of the battlefield. But it was on the battlefield that we learn the most about him.

One day he summoned me to his room.

"Well, what do you do when you see your lord?" He prompted.

I tightened the expression on my face, ready to give him another reminder that he was not my Tono, but Hikoma-san's words suddenly came to my mind. So instead, I said, "I bow."

He stood up, walking outside in the corridor, saying distractedly, "I would just like to see you act like yourself, na..."

When he said that, his voice was like an overflowing bowl, with sadness threatening to spill.

"What do you know about me?"

"I know everything about you. And the rest of the team."

I turned to leave, to escape from this madness.

"The Miso had a tinge too much seaweed. And maybe a bit too much water." He called after me.

* * *

**Tetsuda**

Ryuu...

He turned back to look at me, his eyes dead. "You know nothing about me."

Wrong, Ryuu, very wrong.

* * *

**Takeru**

Calligraphy practice was always amazing to watch. You get to see the differing power of the other elements. And this was probably the only practice Tetsuda came to.

The power of metal was manifested through his characters, and we got to see when 'SILVER' literally dropped from the sky. But the real power was only visible in battle.

"SHINKENSILVER... How long has it been? Five hundred years?" the Kogoyakashi almost greeted Tetsuda.

"I believe this is the first time I'm seeing you, though." He played along anyway.

The horse-man looked around.

"Is this the Knight?" Kotoha asked.

"Look at it! Half-man and half-horse; it must be a knight!" said Chiaki.

"You are aware of the consequences of this battle, right?" The Knight laughed.

"It's unavoidable, and I'm prepared for it."

Without warning, the Knight charged straight at him, wielding its sword. The silver samurai stood there with his ShinkenMaru, ready for the clash. When it did happen, each of them wrenched the other's sword out of their grip.

We went up to help, surrounding the horse and slashing at its legs simultaneously.

"DISTRACT IT!" Tetsuda suddenly screeched.

I couldn't see what he did, instead, concentrated on getting at the mutant horse-head of the monster. And the next thing we knew, Tetsuda had used his Hiden disc.

"METAL CHAIN!"

Chains appeared from behind me, shooting past me and wrapped around the head of the horse. As I got a breather, I realized that chains were also wrapped around each of the horse's legs.

Turning to the direction of where the chains came from, we were greeted by the sight of ShinkenSilver. The chains came from his back, where the Inromaru coat tail used to be.

The horse reared, pulling at the restraints, dragging Tetsuda along.

"KEEP AT IT!"

We didn't know what to do, really, so we delivered the Ebi Rokunin Dan, momentarily nullifying the horse creature's movement.

Tetsuda threw the lightning disc at me suddenly.

"SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!"

A giant explosion enveloped the Kogoyakashi, and shortly after, the chains' ends reappeared from the mass of fire, retracted to Tetsuda's coat and returned to being tails of the coat- harmless decoration on a less than harmless being.

Just as that happened, Tetsuda crumbled, and Mako and Kotoha immediately went over to support him.

The fiery ball contracted, and a new horse sprung from it, ready to charge again.

"I'll go in Ushi Origami."

Quickly, I summoned the giant Ox, and took care of the horse in no time.

Tetsuda, apparently, had used the chains even though he had not mastered the mojikara yet, thus draining him of his energy, and not just that, the chains had begun to feed into his armor for more power, causing his transformation to be undone prematurely. Luckily we got him back to the mansion in time for the Kuroko to take care of him, and to nurse his mojikara as well as his body back to health.

It was going to be a long time before he can be fit to go into battle again.

Later that day, I had a little talk with my self-acclaimed 'retainers' regarding the Hino Tetsuda situation in these past few weeks. Mako was beginning to have her suspicions and theories on who this new, distant and commanding guy was.

"He fights as if he were an immortal." She explained.

This might as well have summarized all the views we had on him.

"I think that he might not be a bad person at all." As expected of Kotoha- always thinking the best of people.

Chiaki suddenly clapped once, "Maybe he's just like Takeru- he's just a shadow for the real ShinkenSilver!"

"No, no." Even Genta didn't agree with his far-fetched theory.

No one came any closer to the truth, and this discussion only left us with more questions than before.

* * *

_=D please review? pretty please?_


	6. Chapter 6: 夜の泣き声

_Just wanna say thank you to all of you who go through the trouble to review every single chapter- it heartens me to know that you liked the story! Dewa, this chapter might be hard to swallow, but here you go!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger. I only own ShinkenSilver, Hino Tetsuda and Hinoko (whom I totally forgot about in the last...5 disclaimers)_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 6: 夜の泣き声 (The Crying Voice at night)

**Chiaki**

Sometimes I think my ears play tricks on me- at night, when I lay alone, and the whole world was asleep, I swear I hear a girl's crying voice. She might be a ghost.

Or maybe I'm just going crazy from holding my feelings in.

The sobs sound so tragic, yet it was so well contained, like river water behind a dam.

Once I knocked on Kotoha's door to see if she was the one, but she was alright, and not even the least bit depressed.

I even tried Nee-san once, but she was sitting calmly in her room sewing.

Since there were no more girls in the mansion, I assume it's just my imagination, probably foretelling the future.

If so, does it mean that I would hurt the one I love?

Perhaps it's the reason I haven't found enough courage to tell Kotoha yet.

Being the youngest in the group, the two of us had always stuck together, even when Genta joined us. We spent time talking to each other, and I'm confident no one knows Kotoha better than I, nor me, Kotoha. There was just a limit to how much you can tell to someone older than you, you know.

Somewhere along, I started to see Kotoha in a changing light, for the strong, honest girl she was, not just a small, weak girl. Heck, she can probably take Nee-san down and hold her own against Ryuunosuke and Takeru. And I don't even have to say anything for my case.

I have been training harder than before the past few years, but I still don't know if I'm strong enough- Tetsuda came along and he got all the spotlight.

Come to think of it, has there been a single battle since we came back together which really required more than being a distracting force on our part, while Tetsuda seemed to be the real target of these mutant Kogoyakashi?

What do they even want with him anyway? His power, probably- they want to turn him to the dark side...

Nah, this isn't Star Wars...

I'm going crazy from this constant switch between modern and traditional Japanese lifestyles, aren't I?

* * *

"Chiaki, do you find that there are times when you hear voices in your head?" Kotoha asked me one day after sword practice.

Well, no... The crying voice definitely came from outside.

She continued when I didn't immediately reply, "I hear a crying voice at night."

"Right..." I said.

Wait. "What?"

"Maybe I'm ju-"

I grabbed her by her shoulders and turned her to face me. "Kotoha, are you sure?"

"I knew it! I'm-"

"NO! I've heard the same thing too! Yes! This means I'm not just going crazy!"

"But Chiaki, who can it be? Mako-chan is the only other woman here, and I'm not crying. So it must be Mako-chan. What could be the reason..."

Mako came down out of the house to join their conversation. "Reason for what?"

"Mako-chan... Is anything bothering you now? Like something sad that makes you want to cry?" Kotoha immediately asked, and I buried my head in shame at her straightforwardness.

Mako gave her a funny look. "No... Why...?"

Kotoha's worried face cleared up, and she smiled her bright smile, relieved that Mako was fine. Then she realized. "Ja... Who was crying?"

"You mean, you guys heard it too?" Mako looked surprised, and no doubt, I did too.

"Yeah..."

"This is strange." Kotoha thought out loud.

Indeed, it was fishy.

"Why don't we do some investigating tonight?" I asked, excitedly. It's going to be so fun! And it's going to put my mind at ease.

* * *

**Kotoha**

Nearing the evening, I could hardly contain my excitement, and Chiaki couldn't either, I could tell. Only Mako-chan seemed the least bit normal.

Ryuu-san even asked me, "Kotoha, are you alright? You seem a little jumpy..."

Eep, too much.

Finally, at long last, night came. Gradually the house fell asleep.

"Alright," Chiaki whispered when we gathered in his room, which was between mine and Mako-chan's thus having a bit more privacy from Gen-san and Ryuu-san's rooms, "First, we go check Gen-chan's, Ryuu-san's, and Takeru's rooms, just to make sure."

"You mean we're going to spy on guys?"

There was silence after my question.

"Well, we've got to make sure they didn't kidnap any poor woman and stash her in their room..." Mako tried to come up with an explanation.

But Chiaki merely stated, "We need to check every room in the mansion. It's such a big mansion that anyone can just hide in without anyone knowing."

And so, we began our hunt, following the sound of the sobbing. After a while, we realize how soft it was, and how hard it is to determine the direction it comes from. Back to checking every room.

Gen-san's room was first, and using a pencil, Chiaki made a hole in the paper screen and we looked through it. Gen-san was sprawled all over the bed, practically sleeping on the tatami mat more than the bed.

"He looks like Ika-chan," I said, sending Mako-chan and Chiaki into fits of silent laughter.

Next was Ryuu-san's room, and Chiaki did the same thing.

"Eh, no one's in." Mako whispered, and Ryuu-san answered, "Of course. I'm here."

"That's true," Chiaki nodded, and we moved on.

Then Chiaki stopped, and turned around abruptly to see Ryuu-san standing there, arms folded. "EH? How did you even... Wha-"

"Did you really think you can spy on me without me knowing? Now, what were you three up to?"

We fumbled around, looking at each other wondering if we should tell him.

Finally, Mako said, "We're patrolling. For ghosts." I could see Chiaki practically smack his face in embarrassment.

Ryuu-san was still for a moment.

"Can I join you?" He suddenly said with a hopeful face.

Chiaki and I exchanged looks of surprise, while Mako cringed at Ryuu-san's expression.

"There's no problem, though..."

Ryuu-san cut Chiaki off, "Yes! Sa, let's go hunt ghosts! Eh why are we looking into Tono's room?"

We had already moved on while Ryuu-san made his dramatic speech.

"Shh! Do you want to look or not?"

While Ryuu-san fought with himself over invading Tono-sama's privacy, I studied the room through the small hole. The room was pretty well-furnished, with a table and a leg-less chair for writing, and pretty patterns on the wall. In the middle of the room, Tono-sama was sleeping despite our noise.

Finally Ryuu-san's more playful side won, and I scooted over so he could look in. If my ears didn't deceive me, I think he sighed.

"Right, now let's move on." Mako said.

We checked a bunch of empty rooms, and the kitchen, the storerooms, etc. but there was no sign of any crying lady.

"How about the Lord's quarters?" I suggested, and Ryuu-san stiffened.

"Do we have to search Tetsuda's room?" he whined.

"Yes," We answered in unison, "if you want to go back to sleep, you can."

He stayed with us anyway, as we crept into the secret corridor of the Lords. The crying sound got louder, and we assumed we were on the right track.

Wow, I thought to myself, the Lords have a really nice garden.

Facing the entrance to the room was a traditional Japanese garden, just like the one I have at home, complete with a pond and a bridge.

"Hey, there's someone up there," I said, noticing a female figure on the bridge. The crying sound came from her.

"Ano..." Ryuu-san tried to get her attention, and she immediately snapped around. Her back was to the moon, and silhouetted against the moonlight, we could not see her face.

"Ryuu..." she said in a panicked voice.

We looked at Ryuu-san, who seemed to know her. He trembled, and asked, "Hinoko? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

Chiaki's eyes widened, and he guessed, "I know! She was kidnapped by Tetsuda, and kept here in secret. That's why he occupied the Lord chamber- it's forbidden to the retainers!"

Mako went up to the bridge, to try to comfort her, but Hinoko, at least, I think that's her name, shied away.

"You must leave, and not tell Tetsuda that you ever found me here. Quickly! Or he'll come out and we'll all be dead." Hinoko shoved them out the corridor just as they heard the door to the bedroom opened, and someone crashed into the wooden frame of the house.

"We should go in and help her!" I can't believe no one offered to barge in and give Tetsuda a piece of our minds. Furthermore, he was hurting Hinoko, and we know it, yet we're not doing anything about it!

Mako shook her head. "Right now, we need Tetsuda's help to defeat the Kogoyakashi, so we must maintain a neutral relationship with him at all costs."

"Even if we go in now, there is nothing we can do against him- he is more powerful. And Hinoko would end up hating us for life." Ryuu-san walked away, leaving us in silence.

* * *

_A bit depressing, but that's the general direction of the next few chapters. I know this chapter might have been a bit far-fetched, perhaps even unbelievable (generally, maybe the whole of the second half of the story might seem so because of my over-extreme imagination lol...) Dakara, please review? I would love to know what you think of this._


	7. Chapter 7 Part I: 雨弾の舞

_Sorry for the late update- had to go out early in the morning... Anyways, here's part 1 of chapter 7, continuation of the depressing mood. This will be the last chapter. Sorry..._

_So, chapter 7 will be in 3 parts, one part per week. You'll know why when we end this part~_

_For those of you who had a terrible week this week (yes, you.) I hope this will make your week slightly better!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger, or Dragons and Phoenix._

* * *

Chapter 7 part I: 雨弾の舞 (Dance of the Bullet Shower)

**Mako**

"Ryuunosuke, did you know, Dragons and Phoenixes are traditionally symbols of marriage?"

Takeru had told me about how Ryuu Origami disappeared one night, and he and Ryuunosuke had found it in Tetsuda's room.

I, having researched obsessively about wedding customs, happened to know this.

"Perhaps it was really reacting to Hinoko's presence, her having been with you for so long," I continued when he didn't say anything.

Ryuunosuke had been unnaturally quiet since our night raid. The guilt of not being able to save his girlfriend must be eating away at him.

Ryuunosuke's lucky to have a girlfriend (though I must admit, I don't know how she tolerates him- either he is a totally different person outside the presence of Takeru, or she's weird), who can take care of him and whom he can take care of.

"Maybe..."

A few weeks had passed since that night, and we've taken down a few more pawns, a Canon (it was attacking our mansion at night... We took it down rather easily, seeing its bark was more than its bite), and a Guard. According to Tetsuda, there was only the Lord, his other Guard, and the General left.

Nothing more was said about that night, and nothing more was heard. Though it would never disappear from our minds, at least it was easier to be civil to the guy.

And then one day, while Takeru and Ryuunosuke were taking a walk, and Genta took Chiaki and Kotoha out shopping, Tetsuda summoned me to his quarters.

The garden was so different in the day. The bridge, I could see, was painted in red with silver streaks, and in the pond swam golden Koi. The flowers near the gates were also well-kept, though I can only identify a few.

Tetsuda stepped out from his room, and there was a dangerous silence.

"Well, it seems you know about Hinoko."

Well that was straight.

"Why are you doing this to her? Ryuunosuke is your comrade!"

"It's for his sake." He avoided my gaze, choosing to look at the Koi instead.

This man is seriously twisted! "How is torturing Ryuunosuke's girlfriend 'for his sake'?"

He laughed, terribly.

"Ryuu doesn't have a girlfriend. Hinoko left him when they were 10. What an assumption! Haha..."

"How can you be so sure? You've only been here a few weeks, AND you haven't been spending as much time with him as we always have. And even if she isn't someone he loves, he still knows her."

That shut him up, and for the first time in the whole conversation, Tetsuda looked into my eyes.

They were bright, and, as much as I'm surprised to see it, kind, his eyes. Kind of like Takeru's eyes- they show you everything his face refuses to show.

I look away from his eyes, for they were too wasted on such a person. Instead, I examined his outfit. Silver...

"I know everything about all of you, including Ryuu. Things that even you don't know about each other. Like, when your parents got married, how, where, at what time. I know about your first crush."

I cringed, the image of that boy floating back to the surface of my mind. Pushing it away, I retorted, "But you don't know us."

Finally something that rendered him speechless! It's really about time someone took him and his words down!

The Sukima sensor was ringing, I subsequently realized.

"The General..." Tetsuda muttered under his breath and rushed out, with me close on his tail.

* * *

Chiaki, Kotoha and Genta were already there, holding their own against the red ox. It was having a spear fight with Chiaki, while Kotoha and Genta took any gap that he created to deal some damage.

"Let's go." Tetsuda ordered me.

As much as I didn't like it, I did as I was told. "Shodophone!"

"IPPITSU SOUJOU!"

The warm, familiar scent of wind enveloped me, and the transformation was underway.

Beside me was ShinkenSilver, with the Inromaru permanently attached to his ShinkenMaru and the coat practically part of his suit.

"ShinkenSilver: Hino Tetsuda."

"The same- Pink: Shiraishi Mako."

"GOING FORTH!"

As if anticipating our arrival, Pawns started appearing out of nowhere.

"Mou, not you guys again?" Pawns were irritating. They don't cause a lot of damage, but they do prove hard to defeat with their gooey bodies.

One latched onto me, wrapping around my neck. I tried calling for help, but it strangled me.

"Mako-chan!" Kotoha came to my rescue, slicing the Pawn into two so I could have just enough time to get it off me.

"Where are Takeru and Ryuunosuke?" I asked my savior, who replied, "I don't know. They should be coming."

"I texted them already. They should be here soon."

"SHINKENMARU: UDAN NO MAI!"

At first, nothing happened after Tetsuda's spin of the disc, but after a while, it started raining metal beads.

"Keep clear! And make sure there are none on you!" he called out, and we all dodged out of the range of the falling bullets.

Genta picked out one from his boot, and threw it back into the arena of battle.

Then, with a snap of his fingers, the bullets stuck to the Pawn detonated, destroying them.

"Woah, that was dangerous." Genta's eyes were wide from shock. So this was what those small bullets could do.

With the General left, we got down to work.

Between attacks, Chiaki asked me, "Nee-san, what did you do to him? He... He's almost... Ach... Acting nice."

I replied, jabbing the ox's nose, "Nothing. I just happened to render him speechless."

Just then, Tetsuda told us, "Fall back!" just as the General swung his staff in a wide circle of dark power around him, pulsing with energy.

Chiaki turned to him stiffly. I can almost imagine his jaw-dropped expression as he asked, "How did you know...?"

The silver samurai tapped a finger on his helmet. "Instinct."

The Kogoyakashi advanced with its sword, only to be blocked by two forces, dealing quick, decisive blows of elemental power on it.

"Kaen no Mai!" "Suiryuu no Mai!"

This gave Tetsuda enough time (ok a few extra seconds) to get his secret weapon out.

"METAL CHAIN!"

"SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!"

The energy travelled from his sword, latched onto the chains that spiraled towards the creature. Takeru and Ryuunosuke jumped out of the way as the chains sailed past them, making contact with the enemy and defining its doom.

"SHINKENSILVER... YOU FIGHT US EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE?" The explosion contracted, and formed the second life of the Ox-like creature.

In response, Houou Origami descended, attacking the giant ox, before pausing to let Tetsuda get in. We got out our Origami as well, about to enlarge them, when a second wave of pawn appeared. And then, two more Kogoyakashi materialized.

"LORD." The giant ox briefly nodded to the lion-like thing, and turned back to the Origami, "YOU ARE DOOMED, NOW THAT YOU'VE SEEN THE LORD."

Next to the Lord floated this ghostly bird, which must be the other Guard.

We quickly sent our Origami to help Tetsuda, while we stayed on the ground to deal with the lion and its ghost.

* * *

**Narration**

The Shinkenger quickly split up to make work of the Pawn, futilely trying to cut them down.

"Mako! Kotoha! Combine your mojikara!" Ryuunosuke shouted, and the two girls quickly formed their 'STORM' 嵐, sending the whirlwind around to disintegrate the semi-solid Pawns.

"Shinkenger!"

"Oh for once someone who acknowledges us!" Genta threw up his hands, outraged, but Takeru grabbed his collar and dragged him back down to the battle in front of them, "Focus! Now's not the time for that."

"Right." Genta unsheathed his SakanaMaru.

"If you go on fighting, ShinkenSilver will die!"

Chiaki dashed forward. "Who cares about that? We are all willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the Earth! And the death of someone like Tetsuda will make the world a better place!"

The ghostly bird met Chiaki in a whirl of battle, attacking him from left, right, top, bottom, all directions possible.

"Chiaki! How could you say that?" the other samurai chided him, but went ahead to help.

"That a-hole there came and took over like some Tono-sama, captured Hinoko-chan, and mocked all of us!"

A deafening roar resounded as a giant ox got blown up, falling, and Tetsuda came back down to join them.

"Don't hesitate. I'm prepared to die."

"No one was hesitating for the likes of you." Chiaki gritted his teeth, beginning his assault on the bird again.

"Chiaki, wait!" Kotoha called out to him.

"But..."

"GO!" Tetsuda screamed.

Silver and Green samurai charged forward.

"SHINKENMARU: MOKU NO JI GIRI!" "SHINKENMARU: RAIDEN NO MAI!"

The slashes that made up the word 'WOOD' 木, now charged with lightning, ran through the half-existent body of the Guard, reducing it to wisps of smoke.

Now only the Lord was left.

* * *

_I guess you could call this a cliffy, but it's coz it'll be too long if I put the whole chapter up. XD So... review please?_


	8. Chapter 7 part II: 裏切者

_Here's part II, in celebration of the end of my exams! Written at least... so, enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 7 part II: 裏切者 (Traitor)

**Still Narration**

"Sorry," Tetsuda whispered, before turning a full 180 degrees and used his sword against the rest of the Shinkenger.

Everyone fought back for their lives, horrified at the silver warrior's betrayal. Never had they thought that this new 'ShinkenSilver' was yet another creature of the Sanzu River.

"TRAITOR!" Chiaki choked out before he got hacked down by said traitor.

Tetsuda didn't so much as falter in his attacks against the samurai, coldly dealing each and every blow over and over at them.

Ryuunosuke fell, then Mako, and Kotoha, and Genta. Takeru and Chiaki were left standing, Chiaki just barely, while the others tried to get onto their feet.

"ShinkenMaru: Raiden. No. Mai."

The air crackled with electricity, slowly expanding towards the two Shinkenger.

With a last burst of energy, Mako, Genta and Kotoha threw themselves in front of their lord and friend, taking the full hundreds of volts for themselves.

"Mako! Kotoha! Genta!" Takeru called out to each of his retainers.

Tetsuda turned his attention from the fallen to him. "Your turn."

He sent out his chains, entrapping a struggling Takeru within their steel hold.

"MUAHAHAHAHA..." the Lord laughed, "That's right... Kill yourselves..."

From the corner of his visor, Chiaki saw Ryuunosuke getting back up to save his Tono.

"ShinkenMaru: Sui...Ryuu...No... MAAAAAIIIIIII!" Ryuunosuke cried out, putting all his energy and mojikara into this one attack. Just as the blue slash left his sword, he crashed forward with no energy left.

"ONEE-SAN! NOOOO!" A foreign female voice screeched, and everyone turned as much as they could to see Shiba Kaoru, head of the Shiba clan, running down from her carriage towards the battle scene.

"Onee-san?" Takeru frowned, then felt the chains release him right before Ryuunosuke's attack reached Tetsuda.

Upon contact, Ryuunosuke's Dance of the Current shattered ShinkenSilver's armor, and a thread of silver energy spilt out, forming the Houou Origami.

Kaoru scrambled to the fallen Tetsuda's side. "Onee-san, hang on! Onee-san!"

The silver phoenix surrounded the lion of a Lord, choking it, and both promptly disappeared into the earth.

* * *

**Takeru**

I cannot believe the sight before me. It was just too much to take in.

In my mother's arms lay a young woman, possibly my age. Many questions swam in my mind. Who is she? Where is Tetsuda? What happened?

The kuroko came and transported all of us back to the Shiba mansion wordlessly (mostly it was because I was the only conscious one).

* * *

After a moment, one kuroko came out to the hall to report the other six's conditions to a waiting mother and I.

The report was all well for those under me; they would survive and wake up soon. But for Tetsuda, he wouldn't last very long.

I summoned Jii. "Jii! I want to know everything, now. Tetsuda is dying, and that means you owe me- you owe us- an explanation."

He sighed, and said, "Very well. But I will wait till the others are here-"

"We're here." Chiaki, like always, interrupted Jii.

"Chiaki! Kotoha, Mako, Genta, Ryuunosuke! What are you guys doing? Shouldn't you be resting?"

Genta retorted, "We believe we are well enough to hear this long overdue explanation."

**_A/N: The next part might be a bit hard to swallow…_**

"Fine," Jii sat them down and began, "ShinkenSilver, as you all know, is the samurai of metal, who appears every 500 years when the phoenix is reborn. Why it is reborn, is because of the cycle of Kogoyakashi that lasts 500 years.

"ShinkenSilver is the human who is chosen from the same cycle of reincarnation. That means, the first ShinkenSilver died and was reincarnated over and over, living the life of a normal human with metal mojikara that he doesn't even know about, until 500 years later when his reincarnation has to take on the mantle of ShinkenSilver again. He and he alone can defeat the first life of any Kogoyakashi that is not a pawn."

Jii paused for everyone to first take the background in, before he moved on.

"What you had just witnessed was the necessary ending to the battle- it is a sealed fate of ShinkenSilver that he must die for the phoenix to eradicate the Lord and leave earth in 500 more years of peace. But before that he has to defeat the rest of the army."

Everyone's heads were looking down, contemplating what they should feel.

Jii then went on to break the most surprising news of the whole episode, "Hino Tetsuda, the current ShinkenSilver... Is in fact, Shiba Kaoru's sister, Shiba..._Hinoko_."

Ryuunosuke's head snapped up, his voice trembling as he asked, "Hi- Hinoko?"

* * *

_Have edited it a little to lessen the shock. Hopefully. And you now have 4 days to read this and re-read it to take it in, before everything is revealed. So, was that surprising? Or does it take some time to swallow? All explanations coming up in the next part coming up on saturday (as usual), so next part is going to be info-heavy. This is the last chapter, by the way. Just one more part till the end... Meanwhile, would love you if you are nice enough to review~ tell me what you think?_


	9. Chapter 7 part III: 真実への鎮魂歌

_...and people, we're at the final part of the final chapter. Before you read on, this chapter has a lot of things that will be revealed, so it might be hard to take in. Like, for the 3rd time in this story I'm saying this..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shinkenger, but I own this chapter._

* * *

Chapter 7 part iii: 真実への鎮魂歌 A Requeim to Truth

**"At her request, the Phoenix took on a form of a human illusion, shrouding all of her but her eyes. You saw the Phoenix's illusion, whom Hinoko named Tetsuda."**

** Narration**

Kaoru spoke, "Onee-san was driven out of the Shiba clan way before I had been born, for reasons unknown to me. I only found out about her when I received a letter from an anonymous sender with the Shiba clan head seal, which was when Tanba slipped out her name."

A kuroko appeared, relaying a message to the group: Hinoko wished to see Takeru and Kaoru.

When they had left, Tanba chose that moment to enter the hall to a group of depressed (maybe more) Shinkenger.

Chiaki looked up at Hikoma. "Does that mean... We now have 3 legitimate Tono?"

"Bakka! Hinoko has been disowned from the Shiba family- she is no longer the sister of Hime, or in any position to inherit the..."

Ryuunosuke flew up at him. "Why was she disowned? Why?"

"Ryuunosuke!" "Ryuu-san!"

Hikoma pried the agitated samurai of water off the sharp-tongued Jii.

"Hinoko did not possess the fire mojikara, and did not work to master it. The late Tono was very disappointed in her and drove her out."

"I killed her... I killed Hinoko..." Ryuunosuke suddenly lapsed into a period of self-blame.

* * *

**Takeru**

Mother and I proceeded to see her sister.

Upon entering the room, we saw she was lying on the bed, eyes closed as though sleeping. She wasn't bandaged up or anything.

"The Phoenix's illusion broke, huh?" Hinoko's lips moved, but her eyes didn't open.

I recalled the moment when something shattered as Ryuunosuke's ShinkenMaru dance hit ShinkenSilver.

"Onee-san," Mother called her, and I didn't know what to say.

"Kaoru..." Hinoko's eyelids fluttered open, taking a look at her younger sister whom she never really knew.

"I have a few odd minutes, perhaps hours, left on this Earth.

"Kaoru, I'm so proud of you, for mastering the fire mojikara in a way that I never could. Though your time as ShinkenRed was somewhat short-lived, I still thank you for bringing hope to Father in a way I never could. I hope we get to be sisters again come the next life, and this time we might actually get to spend more time with each other and share more words than these dying ones. I'm sorry."

"Onee-san..." Strong as Mother was, tears were flowing from her eyes. I put my arms around her to comfort her.

Hinoko turned to me. "Takeru... I'm sorry for calling you a Kagemusha, I really am. You are anything but, and I've seen how you've captured the hearts of your retainers. This," She pulled out her hand from under the blankets, producing the Shiba clan head seal, "I leave in the rightful hands."

I took it, and finally asked the question I'd wanted to for such a long time. "Why were you driven out of the Shiba house?"

"Haha... I knew you'd ask that. The official reason that Father made everyone believe was that I was not serious in treating my samurai training, in mastering the fire mojikara that could otherwise have been transferred to me. I hated him for that, I really did.

"But one night a few years later, I discovered in my belongings that seal, and that was around when the Phoenix appeared to me. For the first time I understood, Father did not drive me out. He knew my destiny lay on some other path, and that I had the metal mojikara. If I had remained there, pressure from the town and everyone else would have forced me to master the fire mojikara, in the process losing the metal mojikara."

At this, Mother started crying out loud. "Kaoru, if I might speak to Takeru for a while... Please get the other samurai for me; I need to apologize to them all."

Mother left the room, and her crying voice disappeared gradually. I followed her with my eyes, until some shuffling noise was heard behind me, at which I turned around to see Hinoko sitting up.

She grabbed my hands, and looked seriously into my eyes. "I'm leaving the Shiba family in your hands, 19th head, but more importantly to me, I'm leaving Ryuu in you hands. Please take care of him for me. And you know, he has been holding out on you, because of me, but I can tell how you two feel about each other. Just follow your heart."

I sat there blinking. How did she know? But she smiled and told me to leave, and asked for Chiaki.

* * *

**Chiaki**

Finally I was getting to see the woman behind there few weeks of madness.

She was that so-called victim captured by Tetsuda, but never did we consider the possibility that she was Tetsuda.

When I entered the room, Hinoko was struggling to get to her feet. As I went forward to help her, she dropped to her knees. "Chiaki, I'm so sorry for all the trouble I caused due to my selfishness."

Whether or not this was yet another act by her (she learnt Kabuki as well, according to Ryuu), I didn't know, but if it was meant to make me feel sorry for her, I'd say it worked pretty darn well.

"Ah, you had better feel sorry. You knocked me down, stole from Takeru, mocked the rest of them, and most of all, you hurt Ryuunosuke."

Hinoko was silent, silently receiving my harsh words falling on her.

"We could have gotten along. Why did you have to put us- put yourself- through this acting and whatnot?" Hey, I'm not that heartless. Everything must have been done for a reason.

"I never meant for you all to find out my identity as Hinoko. What I really wanted was for you all to hate me so much, my death wouldn't even matter to you. If possible, you were supposed to be the ones who kill me, release the Phoenix and end the cycle, move on with life and forget."

"You underestimate us- we would find another way! We did that with Doukoku, I don't see why not for this!"

Hinoko sighed, and apologized again.

* * *

**Mako**

Shiba Hinoko; the 'disowned' first daughter of the previous Shiba head. Takeru filled us in as we stood outside, awaiting answers to our own questions.

"Why must we line up to meet her like she's some queen?" Genta couldn't stand still; I suspect he was going to do something bad to her later, like slap her or something.

Chiaki came out and told me to go in.

"You know, Ryuu origami reacted to both Houou origami's existence and mine. The phoenix that was here."

Ok that's just creepy. She's sitting, legs folded on either sides of her body, eyes closed.

"They're a symbol of marriage. So why did you deny you were his girlfriend?"

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Those eyes were the same ones I had seen earlier that day.

"We met when we were 5, Mako, and I left when we were 10. Having been a decade since we last met, I wasn't sure of our relationship anymore. In the first place, 10 is too early an age to think of love, especially when he had samurai training and Kabuki training on top of that."

"Then why must you die? Don't you know how heartbroken he is now?"

"He'll get over it. He has someone else. And all of you." Hinoko didn't seem to fear death at all, not even the prospect of leaving her loved ones behind. I didn't know what to think of her anymore.

"Do you mean Takeru?"

She chuckled softly, "So we all noticed."

"It's just me."

"We would have gotten along…" She said, her voice and eyes in a land far, far away.

After me, Kotoha and Genta went in and came out one after another. Kotoha came out crying, and I understood how Hinoko's death could impact her, a teenage girl seeing the first death of her life.

Genta told Ryuunosuke to go in after him, before straightening up. "Let's now all go for sushi. Hinoko-chan wouldn't want us to be too upset over her death!"

But I could see that no one was in any mood for sushi, everyone having a forced smile tainted with melancholy on their face.

"Take-chan, you coming?" Genta called him as we went off. Takeru shook his head, the same expressionless face plastered on.

* * *

**Tetsuda/Hinoko**

Ryuu broke down once he came in, hanging on to me like, for lack of better description, a son to his dying mother.

"Hinoko… I killed you… I'm so sorry! I'm sorry… Sorry…" He clutched me tightly, crying and apologizing until his voice was drowned by his tears.

I never blamed him for anything—it had been my mission, my duty to die for this Earth, and I would have killed myself if he hadn't done it already.

But for some reason, I could feel tears coming out of my eyes as well.

I was numb.

I don't even know what I'm feeling anymore.

"You didn't kill me… Don't blame yourself." I saw myself, soothing Ryuu, while I watched over from the corner of the room.

Takeru was outside, I knew, ready to receive Ryuu when I went off.

I'm not afraid to die.

Yet the tears kept coming.

Where did they come from? Why was I crying?

Why was Ryuu there, clinging on to me? Death isn't that bad a thing if it was for the greater good.

Even Ryuu Origami flew up to my shoulder, depressed.

The phoenix was coming to send me off soon.

* * *

People may experience sorrow or joy, parting or reunion

The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,

This has been unchangeable since the beginning of time

All we can hope for is longevity, as we admire the same moon though miles apart

-Traditional Chinese poem-

* * *

_Ok, I'm sorry if the last part was a bit unclear, but basically, it's just freaking idealistic. Hinoko was so close to death she didn't feel the tears (don't actually know if this is what it feels to die; never died before) and she doesn't feel sad, but in truth, she did._

_Sateto, we'll have an epilogue! Next saturday, will be putting up the epilogue, and it'll really be the 'final chapter'. Meanwhile, I would love to hear from you people~_


	10. Epilogue: 愛の証

_Gomen!~! It's a terrible weather today, and I just didn't feel like doing anything productive anyway, the epilogue! As you all know, this is the final final final final super last chapter of the story, so thank you to those of you who have stuck with me and painstakingly reviewed every single bloody chapter of this story! It was really heartening to get your reviews, and some of them- most of them- made me laugh a lot! Thanks so much for the support!_

_In no particular order of importance, but alphabetical, thank you so much to:_

_CrystalProductions27_

_phoenixfirekitsune_

_Tasukiyama_

_yite12_

_for reviewing this story and making me laugh all the time!_

_Now, without further ado, the epilogue!_

_Disclaimer: It's damn sunny today _

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Epilogue: 愛の証 (Proof of Love)

**One Year Later**

"Kotoha! Are you alright? Do you need help?" Chiaki rushed out from the front door to help Kotoha with the groceries which she was hauling inside. Mako peeked out of the kitchen, and, seeing the food, came out to collect them for cooking.

Chiaki plunked the bags on the counter, letting out a breath as he was relieved of the weight.

Mako had worked hard to learn to cook, with the help of the Kuroko.

Chiaki and Kotoha were now an item, with the blessing of everyone in the household. When did this happen?

It happened 2 months after the defeat of the Kogoyakashi, when Ryuunosuke had finally gotten over the whole episode. Or, more like, when he finally stopped ebbing sadness into every corner of the household and picked himself up and started living like a human again. It was thanks to Takeru that that had finally happened.

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Ryuunosuke paced around his room, and then sat down. He took out Hinoko's letter again.

Takeru had found it in his room a few weeks after her death, and it was addressed to him.

"To Ryuunosuke,

"I'm sorry for everything. For leaving you when we were 10, for leaving you again just after we met again 10 years later. But find sanctity in your friends, who will be there when you need help, and accept you for who you are.

"Truthfully, you've changed a lot since we were kids—you're no longer that playful child full of dreams, but a dedicated samurai to your Tono.

"Guess what? Mako thought I was your girlfriend. I bet she wondered why someone like the Ryuunosuke she knew would even have one.

"But the truth is, she would understand if she had seen the other you, sans melodrama (which by the way, I have no idea where you picked up from)

"I'm sorry you had to find out that Tetsuda was I.

"You didn't kill me, Ryuunosuke, because I didn't die. I'll come back again 500 years later, the same soul with the same mission, just a different person altogether. It's a cycle of reincarnation.

"Do treasure those around you, and do not let your sorrow cut you off from them.

"We'll meet again, soon. I promise.

"Hinoko

"p.s. The soup was not terrible. I just had to make sure I did not display any fault. You've gotten better over the last 10 years. Though I did mean it when I said there was too much seaweed and water."

_Hinoko, Hinoko,_ Ryuunosuke repeated her name over and over again in her mind. He still hadn't gotten over her death, though he has come to accept it. It's a different matter altogether.

She was his childhood friend, after all.

"Ryuunosuke, may I come in?" Takeru's voice was heard from the other side of the shoji.

"Ah, of course."

The shoji slid to one side, and the Lord entered the room, closing the shoji behind him.

"Still thinking about her?"

"Of course. She'll always be on my mind."

Takeru paused. "Is she your girlfriend?"

There's that question again.

"No, Tono. I don't have a girlfriend. She's just my friend. And if you're wondering if I'm free, I am."

Takeru stiffened, and Ryuunosuke laughed.

"It's not that hard to read you, you know. The whole world knows, and I know. I love you too."

There, he said it.

Takeru gasped, and clearing his throat, he said in a serious voice, "I think you need time to clear your thoughts up, Ryuunosuke. You're probably still suffering from the afterglow of losing a close friend. There's no ru-"

Ryuunosuke had silenced him, laying his lips on top of his lord's.

"That and this have no relation. Hinoko was and will always be a friend."

"Ryuunosuke… But… Why?"

The question was met with a short laugh. "Do I need a reason to love you?"

"I mean, normally, you wouldn't go around kissing… people if you didn't know if they liked it. I mean, I'm… You're…"

"Let's just say, Takeru, your feelings are not exactly the most well-hidden. Even Hinoko could tell, and she in turn told the whole world. Not that people haven't already noticed; Genta had known for the longest time, probably even before you realized it yourself."

"Then when did you know?"

Ryuunosuke thought hard. "I guess, I just knew. I knew I loved you. I knew… Well, I don't know. Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

Takeru initiated the kiss this time, taking Ryuunosuke into his arms and laying full claim to his lips, as he had wanted to do for a very, very, long time. Ryuunosuke, in turn, wasted no time responding and contributing to the lip contact, falling backwards as his Lord pushed them down.

"I've wanted to try to say this for once: I love you, Ikenami Ryuunosuke."

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_Well, it is an epilogue XD sorry it's so short! But if this came as a surprise, -.- you have not been paying attention XD So, for the last time in this story, please review! ARIGATOU!_


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